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Bezel insert ‘mod’ experimentation

Dr Fun Socks

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Bezel inserts!




If you have a rolex, chances are you’ve heard people complain, possibly even yourself at some point. Well luckily there are a few options these days to sort those crappy dull number finishes.
  1. Buy a gen bezel. $$$$$$$
  2. Send your watch to sponge bob, probably the best option (or equal to usd) by without going gen but its still $300. Times that by the 6 rollies I’ve accumulated and its not an option...
  3. Usd plating. Much less expensive than sponge bob, probably not much difference in quality, but still €100 x6 = a new watch
  4. The paint pen mod.... now as with a lot of people i have tried this. Is it a mod? No its colouring in your watch with a pen. Don’t fancify it! On day one after slaving away with your little scalpel blade it looks pretty good. Much more visible in low light. But then a month down the line it looks like shit again and needs re doing.
  5. The KJ2020 method, spray paint. I get the ease of doing it with a pen. You dont need to remove the bezel, although good luck around the pip (if your doing a sub not a gmt). But kj knows his stuff and spray paint, at least some forms of it, is much longer lasting and hard wearing.
But which colour i hear you cry? Well I’ve spent a day and about £10 to find out which (of my small sample of colours) is the best! Bear in mind i painted these with two coats, scraped, acetoned and re did the process 4 times in a day just for the sake of science, so if any of the pics show silver smudges, its because i wasn’t exactly trying hard to make it pretty, its just to get an idea of what the colour looked like before i stripped it again.




Despite being what i can only assume from experience is the least durable of the finishes, paint pen was far and away the hardest to remove. Im guessing its oil based, could be wrong, but acetone didn’t touch it. Even alcohol didn’t do much. I had to scrape a lot of it out with a 0.8mm screw driver in the end which was a real pain in the ass and ill still probably have to do some minute detailing before i do the final paint ill before i stick it back on the watch.




The test piece




The noob v7 batman “speed bump” bezel insert. If there was no speed bump effect im sure no one would care. But there is. Im not sure on the construction of most inserts, but this one is metal (probably steel) coated with ceramic. How do they do that? Magic? I don’t know. Probably some form of sintering but ill leave that to people who know more about it.

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Plated rep inserts




I nicked these pics from USD plating, hopefully he doesn’t mind. This would be the benchmark I’m aiming for, but at 1/10th the cost or less, have your expectations set accordingly.

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The equipment




Not much needed to be honest. I used a straight razor blade as i find it easier to press flat on the insert but any scalpel blade will work. I used a load of acetone, you may not need it depending on if your insert has painted numbers, if you do wear gloves, its strong stuff. It wont damage your bezel unless its made from plastic and its great for getting the sticky shit off the back. If you choose to spray paint, a warm place with no dust is the best. There are various threads about removing bezel inserts so use the search bar. I used double sided sticky tape to attach it to a box for spraying.

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Numéro uno




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https://www.sprayster.com/product/paint-factory-enamel-silver-gloss-spray-paint-400ml/




Despite the tin looking slightly different to this picture this is what i ordered. Gloss enamel paint.

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Numéro deux




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https://www.sprayster.com/product/hycote-renault-platinum-metallic-spray-paint/




It had platinum in the name so i had to give it a go. It has much more of a rainbowy shimmer than the others under fake indoor lighting (leds). Hard to photograph but you can kind of see it on the 20 in the last picture. Acrylic paint.

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Nummer drei




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Lidl




Admittedly the only difference between this and number one is the finish, silk as opposed to gloss. There may be a difference in the flake size, ill leave that to your eyes.

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Numero quattro




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https://www.amazon.co.uk/Pilot-Metallic-Colour-Silver-Permanent/dp/B00PCKKUDA




Yeah i know its not a molotov. Im in the uk and i got it from smiths. Its a silver paint pen at the end of the day, its in here for comparative purposes.

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Results




Sorry for the lack of sunlight pics, its pissing it down all week in the uk, hence i had nothing better to do than paint the same bezel repeatedly...




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Which is the most gen like? Honestly probably the surface finish of the silk is the closest to usd’s pics. From what i can tell platinum isnt a super glossy finish, it’s not a polished surface. In terms of colour perhaps the platinum as it changes colour other than just silver. It does however have a sparkle to it, which im assuming platinum doesn’t.




Which one do i like the most? The Renault platinum colour is pretty swish. Im going to do a final coat in that colour and see how i like it when i get some parts back from KJ2020. I hope you enjoyed reading and maybe even found this useful! Thanks to Kurt for the idea.


Disclaimer: if you ruin your watch, not my fault!
 

HWatch

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Amazing work! How did you go abaout protecting the insert when spraying? To not get spray all over the insert?
 

Dr Fun Socks

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Amazing work! How did you go abaout protecting the insert when spraying? To not get spray all over the insert?

Just spray it all and use a flat razor or scalpel, held perpendicular to the bezel to scrape off the excess. Ceramic is harder than steel so you’ll struggle to mark the insert with a razor blade. Same kind of process you use to neaten up after a paint pen treatment.
 

Nivka

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Excellent thanks! I’d be tempted to do a first coat with the platinum and then a top coat with the silk
 

Dr Fun Socks

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Excellent thanks! I’d be tempted to do a first coat with the platinum and then a top coat with the silk

Could be good! Ill give it a try later and report back if i get time.
 

KJ2020

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Lookin good bro. Silk and platinum are both acceptable, both appear to minimize the bumps pretty well. The platinum makes the markers appear larger. Four coats is a lot, you lose some definition of the cutout but at wrist length that wouldn't be very noticeable. Beautiful bright silver is always the ultimate goal and you've got that accomplished nicely.

Had to order new balance assemblies for your movements. Waiting on arrival, will let you know.
 

Dr Fun Socks

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Lookin good bro. Silk and platinum are both acceptable, both appear to minimize the bumps pretty well. The platinum makes the markers appear larger. Four coats is a lot, you lose some definition of the cutout but at wrist length that wouldn't be very noticeable. Beautiful bright silver is always the ultimate goal and you've got that accomplished nicely.

Had to order new balance assemblies for your movements. Waiting on arrival, will let you know.

Oh i stripped them out between colours. Got a load of acetone and it takes all of a minute to strip so kept it fresh :) I’ve been doing one scatter coat and one final coat for each colour. It could be the type of paint (acrylic vs enamel) but I’ve got not idea what else could cause it. No rush mate I appreciate the help :)
 

KJ2020

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Oh i stripped them out between colours. Got a load of acetone and it takes all of a minute to strip so kept it fresh :) I’ve been doing one scatter coat and one final coat for each colour. It could be the type of paint (acrylic vs enamel) but I’ve got not idea what else could cause it. No rush mate I appreciate the help :)

OK that makes more sense. I really like the platinum. It's such an improvement over the stock coatings. You might try a satin clear coat one time to see if you like it.
 

Dr Fun Socks

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OK that makes more sense. I really like the platinum. It's such an improvement over the stock coatings. You might try a satin clear coat one time to see if you like it.

Thats not a bad call! Ive only got gloss lacquer at the moment but could be an idea for the future. Only thing that worries me about a clear coat is losing depth in the cutout but doesn't hurt to try, can always start over easy enough.
 

Dr Fun Socks

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Nivka the result of a bit of platinum and a bit of silk. Its hard not to get it a touch patchy but looks good :)




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